"On May 2nd, 1933, the day after Labor day, Nazi groups occupied union halls and labor leaders were arrested. Trade Unions were outlawed by Adolf Hitler, while collective bargaining and the right to strike was abolished. This was the beginning of a consolidation of power by the fascist regime which systematically wiped out all opposition groups, starting with unions, liberals, socialists, and communists using Himmler’s state police.

Fast forward to America today, particularly Wisconsin. Governor Walker and the Republican/Tea Party members of the state legislature are attempting to pass a bill that would not only severely punish public unions (with exception for the police, fire, and state trooper unions that supported his campaign), but it would effectively end 50 years to the right of these workers to collectively bargain.

[...]

Decimating unions has long been an objective of the rich and powerful. Growing out of trade guilds in Medieval Europe, they were banned starting with the Ordinance of Labourers 1349 and Statute of Labourers in England. It was not until the Industrial Revolution that labor began to organize again.

Every little gain for the rights of workers was hard fought and bitterly resisted by the rich and powerful. The photo above (see it here) shows the Lawrence Textile Strike (also known as the Bread and Roses strike) where mostly immigrant workers rebelled against increasingly harsh work conditions and lowered pay caused by mechanization. Specifically, state law mandated a reduction in working hours for women and children from 56 to 54 hours, and factory owners responded by cutting salaries, something the poor workers could not afford.

Over time, organized labor managed to abolish child labor all together, as well as institute an 8 hour work day, 40 hour work week, mandatory breaks, safety guidelines, grievance procedures, a minimum wage, the concept of a work free weekend, workers comp, pensions, health safeguards, and paid sick days, vacation days, and holidays. If you enjoy any of these things, thank a union member and support the passage of a strong Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)."

Read the rest here. Includes great pictures, charts and graphs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back describing each one. (thanks Arlo) An excellent read.

"Here's the deal, in case you've missed the news: Wisconsin's newly-minted Republican governor, Scott Walker, has wreathed himself in folly during the slender six weeks he has disgraced the office.

First, he imposed a series of ridiculous proposals on the state, which do nothing whatsoever to help the economy but cost upwards of $140 million.

Second, he ignored the judgment of the state's fiscal bureau - whose responsibilities are akin to the Congressional Budget Office - which said the state's financial situation was not nearly dire enough to require "austerity measures," and would in all likelihood finish the year with a surplus...said surplus prediction, it should be noted, got screwed out of existence by Walker's absurd and expensive policy initiatives.

Third, and in fulfillment of what appears to be a life-long loathing of anything relating to union or public-sector workers, Walker demanded that any and all collective bargaining rights be abolished, and that all state employees and union members eat what amounts to a massive and unprecedented pay and benefits cut across the board...cuts which, by the by, will do almost nothing to stimulate Wisconsin's economy, but will fulfill Mr. Walker's ambition to destroy union labor in the state."

Why? The short answer is Foxisn’t actually a news-gathering organization in the traditional sense in that itreacts and responds to breaking news around the world. Nor is it one strives toinform its viewers. It’s just not. Instead, Fox News is a politicalorganization.

Robert Reich

Bruce Levine concludes that the problem isn’t that we are a “center-right” country or an apathetic people. The issue is that we are a people who have been systematically beaten down by the corporatocracy. As a clinical psychologist, he sees the people as a whole as suffering from abuse syndrome — a people actively demoralized.

Friends Don't Let Friends Watch Fox News

Bill O'Reilly - Hypocrite, Self Aggrandizing Asshole

Click here and tell Billo's sponsors what you think

Fox News can kiss my Presidential ass.

Republican Gomorrah

Click here for Award-winning journalist Max Blumenthal's video summary of his new book that traces the rise of the radical right in the US and how it used the concept of personal crisis to grow as a movement and eventually capture control of the GOP to transform it from the party of Dwight Eisenhower to the party of Sarah Palin.

DownSize to Thrive, A Crash Course in 21st Century Survival

This is an awesome site created by my good friend Shaleia with lot and lots (a veritble plethora) of good, common sense ideas about surviving in these uncertain economic times.

Air America Radio - Rest In Peace, we will miss you.

That famous liberal media bias that you are always hearing about but can't get anywhere else.

Why We Need Government-Run Universal Socialized Health Insurance

Screwed: The Undeclared War against the Middle Class ... and What We Can Do about It

Under the guise of "freeing" the market, conservatives have enriched themselves and their fat-cat cronies and screwed everyone else. Beginning with the Reagan administration, the U.S. government has steadily instituted policies and legislation that favor corporations over citizens. This book nails the truth about how both parties have been screwing the American people, except for the one hundredth of one percent who earn over $6 million a year.